Objects of VenerationSc u lp ture & Paintings from Gandhara, Burma,

K hmer, Ceylon, India & Tibet

+(44) 207 839 8200 joost van den bergh

Objects of Veneration Sculpture & Paintings from Gandhara, Burma, Khmer, Ceylon, India & Tibet

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01 White Marble Ganesh

The elephant-headed god Ganesha is one of

the best known and loved deities in the Hindu

pantheon of gods. As the son of Parvati and

Shiva, he is one of the most widely worshipped.

Whilst his image is found throughout India,

devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and ex-

tends to Jains, Buddhists and beyond India. He

is revered as the Remover of Obstacles, provid-

er of good fortune, prosperity and success and

is also patron of arts and sciences and the deva

of intellect and wisdom. He is honoured at the

start of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as

Patron of Letters during writing sessions.

This marble Ganesh dates back to the Hindu

Shahi/post Gupta Period and comes from the

area of present day Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Between 4th 7th centuries this region saw

successive occupations by the Central Asian

White Huns and other foreigners including the

Turki, Shahis and later by the Hindu Shahis.

During the post Gupta period from the 7th

-9th centuries there is evidence of the peaceful

coexistence of Hinduism and Buddhism under

Shahi rule which is reflected in the stylistic

attributes of the sculptures from this period.

Drawing inspiration from post Gandharan,

Gupta, and Kashmiri sculptural styles, Hindu

Shahi sculpture combines the monumental

presence of early Gandharan, with the soft

roundness of Gupta and some of the broad facial

features seen in Kashmiri sculpture.

Hindu Shahi/ Post Gupta Period

Pakistan/ Afghanistan (Punjab Hills)

mid ninth century

Height: 47.5 cm; 18 inches

Provenance: private collection, USA

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02 Stucco head of Buddha Shakyamuni

This larger than life-size stucco head of Buddha originates

from the Gandhara region, the area that is present-day

Afghanistan-Pakistan. The sensitive modelling of this head is

distinguished by great attention to detail, this was achieved

by working in stucco, giving it a more expressive quality

compared to the formal, somewhat harder, images in stone.

The technique of stucco was an invention of the late

Hellenistic period in Alexandria, where gypsum was first

used as a cheaper substitute for marble. As trade relations

with the Roman West intensified in the early first century,

the technique spread from there to Iran and India. Heads

of statues were constructed on a rough core of lime plaster

mixed with straw and small stones, which was then covered

with an outer layer of finer stucco for the modelling of the

features and hair.

Pakistan, ancient region of Gandhara,

circa 4th century

Height: 52 cm; 20 inches

Provenance: private collection, Japan

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03 Carved ivory figure representing Saint Sebastian

Sebastian, shown here flanked by a dog, was a Roman

centurion who was discovered to be a Christian and was

therefore sentenced to death by Emperor Diocletian. He was

bound to a stake and shot with arrows. He was left for dead,

although the arrows had not killed him so he was eventually

stoned to death. The delicate features and the fine carving

of this Saint Sebastian are typical of Christian ivories made

in Goa when it was under Portuguese rule. Goa was initially

conquered in 1510 by Alfonso de Albuquerque (c. 1453 - 1515)

during the reign of Manuel I of Portugal, and re-conquered in

1512. Although Portugals interest was mainly in trade and to

establish trade routes, the Christian settlers and missionaries

were keen also to convert the native populace to Christianity,

and from the 16th century onwards they built numerous

churches. Ivory was already a popular medium used by local

craftsmen to produce Buddhist and Hindu images, and these

same craftsmen were consequently commissioned to produce

Christian imagery. A number of these carvings were made for

export but the majority was intended for domestic use.

Indo-portuguese, Goa, 17th18th century

Height: 20.5 cm, 8 inches

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04 Bronze king and queen

Si Lanka, circa 1920

Height of king: 17 cm, 6 inches

Height of queen: 13 cm, 5 inches

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05 A carved wood warrior

India, Tamil Nadu, 17th18th Century.

Height: 81 cm, 31 inches

Width: 23 cm, 9 inches

Provenance: Burton Stein Collection

Exhibited and published:

Living Wood: Sculptural Traditions of

Southern India Whitechapel Gallery,

1992, p.164

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06 Nicolas Dias Abayasinha Amarasekera

The attribution to Nicolas Dias Abayasinha Amarasekera is

based on a watercolour by Jan Brandes in the Rijksmuseum,

Amsterdam. This watercolour depicts the meeting in

November 1785 between the diplomatic representatives of

Kandy with the Dutch Governor Willem Jacob van de Graaff

(17371804). Also depicted in the watercolour is a group of

high-ranking VOC officials. Centrally placed in Brandess

watercolour is the Modlia or official interpreter to the VOC,

Nicolas Dias Abayasinha Amarasekera. A further watercolour

by Brandes, also in the Rijksmuseum, shows another portrait

of Nicolas Dias Abayasinha Amarasekera.

Ivory with traces of pigment and gilding

Kandy, Sri Lanka, 18th century

Height: 22 cm, 8 inches

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07 Sandstone torso of Vishnu

This 7th century carved sandstone torso of a deity

is identified as the Hindu god Vishnu, preserver of

the cosmos who assumes many forms, or avatars.

It originates from Phnom Da located in the Angkor

Borei district of southern Cambodia. Stylistically this

torso is comparable to sculpture produced prior to

the establishment of the Khmer capital at Angkor in

the early ninth century.

Phnom Da is located in the Angkor Borei district,

Takeo province, of southern Cambodia. The earliest

archaeological material from this site, dating from

about 400 BC, contains the first known Khmer

inscriptions as well as the earliest tradition of Khmer

sculpture. Today the hill of Phnom Da contains

an 11th Century temple, built on the site of a 6th

century temple from the Funan period, built by king

Rutravarman. The oldest stone sculptures, found

in cave temples, depict both Hindu and Buddhist

divinities were made of single blocks of fine-grained

sandstone and date to the sixth century.

Khmer, pre Angkor Phnom Da Mekong delta,

7th Century

Height: 44 cm, 17 inches

width: 25 cm, 9 inches

Provenance: private collection, UK

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08 Ivory Madonna and child

For centuries Sri Lanka (Ceylon) was influenced by

the artistic and cultural traditions of South India.

Through trade with the Portuguese, ivory became

highly valued in Europe from the sixteenth century.

A Portuguese observer, Garcia da Orto, writing at

this time, stated that ivory was used for ...caskets,

combs and many other things. Ivory was principally

imported from Africa. Ivory from Sri Lanka and

Sumatra was valued because it did not become

yellow, which Indian ivory tended to do.

Sri Lanka, circa 17th century.

Height: 20.5 cm, 8 inches

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09 Ivory figure of the crucified Christ

In 1543 the Philippines became part of The Spanish

Empire as a colony, which lasted over 300 years.

The Spanish introduced Christianity to their colonies

and arte-facts for worship where commissioned

locally. Ivory carving was one of the techniques

introduced to the Philippines in order to produce

carvings of various Christian iconographies. Ivory

figures produced in the Philippines not only catered

to local use, but were also produced to export to

Latin America and Europe. Originally this ivory Christ

would probably have been adorned with a metal

loincloth and crown.

Hispano-Philippines 17th18th century

Height: 20.5 cm, 8 inches

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10 Bronze standing Buddha Shakyamuni

The rippling design of the Buddhas robe gives the

impression of falling water and is a typical sculptural

innovation from the Kandyan period. It gives a sense

of motion to the otherwise static figure. The city of

Kandy is situated in the hills of the Kandy Valley in

Central Sri Lanka. In 1592 Kandy became the capital

city of the last remaining independent kingdom in

the island, while the coasts where dominated by the

Portuguese and the Dutch from 1505 to 1815.

It was during this period that Sri Lanka witnessed a

Buddhist revival under the reign of Kirti Sri Rajasimha

(1747-1782), resulting in an increase in demand for

images of the Buddha, made in both ivory and bronze.

Sri Lanka, Kandy period, 18th century

Height: 19 cm, 7 inches

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11 Krishna Venugopala

An exceptionally large figure of Krishna Venugopala

made in zinc and gold inlay.

Krishna is a manifestation o